Lead Hand Convicted of Assault for Punching Worker in the Face

A lead hand for a cleaning company told a worker he had to wear safety goggles while carrying cleaning chemicals. The worker refused. The lead hand reported the situation to his supervisor and they confronted the worker together, who claimed he’d just been joking. But the worker later poked the lead hand in the shoulder, called him a name and glared at him. In response, the lead hand punched the worker in the face twice, causing a cut to his mouth that required stitches. The lead hand was arrested and charged with assault. He claimed self-defence. But the court rejected that claim and convicted him. His violent response to the worker’s actions was unreasonable and disproportionate. And if he felt threatened, he could’ve easily retreated [R. v. Mohammad-Yousf, [2014] ABPC 252 (CanLII), Nov. 5, 2014].